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Over the next six days, Wells Fargo Arena will play host to 32 basketball games, featuring teams from 23 different conferences and dozens of towns around the state. Come Friday and Saturday night, only four will emerge as the best in their respective classes.

The Iowa boys’ state basketball tournament is back, finally and again.

The action begins at 10:30 a.m. Monday, when Gladbrook-Reinbeck and Lynnville-Sully tip off to open the Class 1A tournament — and continues all the way to Saturday night’s 4A final.

1. Newton reaches state, rallies a community

The Newton boys’ basketball team has reached the state tournament for the first time since 1992. The Cardinals are one of a handful of teams back for the first time in a while, but this year’s team is carrying a community along with them.

Newton, as most Iowans know, was once tabbed as the “Washing Machine Capital of the World,” thanks to the Maytag Corporation and the many jobs it brought to town. But in 2006, Whirlpool bought Maytag and closed the Newton offices a year later.

The closure forced thousands to lose jobs, with unemployment almost reaching 10 percent. Many moved in search of employment. Others stayed, and more manufacturing jobs surfaced, but as a whole, the community’s morale dropped considerably.

“That’s still something that people talk about here, as far as losing friends and neighbors and community members that were a big part of this town,” Newton boys’ basketball coach Bill Liley said. “That really hurt this community.”

The high school felt the effects, too, battling enrollment and economics. But the basketball team has adjusted well in recent years, securing three winning seasons in the past four years after four consecutive nine-win campaigns. The last two years have been especially great.

Last season, Liley’s first at the helm after moving in from Seattle, Newton went 15-9 and reached the substate final in Class 3A. This year, the Cardinals bumped up to 4A and are 19-5 after toppling Urbandale, Dowling Catholic and Johnston en route to this week’s state tournament.

“What’s happened here with basketball has been a nice shot in the arm for the community,” Liley said. “It’s really fun to take a group that’s never been — or, with this community, ending what’s been quite a drought, as far as appearances. It’s like taking your kid to Disneyland for the first time.”

Along the way, the community has rallied behind the team. Last week, Newton played Johnston at Des Moines Roosevelt in the 4A’s Substate 7 final. There were so many fans clad in red and black that some were turned away because the gym had filled to capacity.

“I couldn’t stay in the locker room prior to our pregame because it was such a sight to watch all the Newton faithful just rush into the gym and fill our side an hour before tipoff,” Liley said. “It was pretty much a home game for us. That really got us going.”

The Cardinals, of course, jumped out to a 20-5 lead and won 48-44 to reach state. Liley fully understands how much this community is using the team as a source of hope and confidence — he said the school sold 1,000 state tournament T-shirts within 36 hours after the substate final victory.

Liley expects Newton fans to be out in full force at Wells Fargo Arena on Wednesday afternoon when the Cardinals face top-seeded Iowa City West (20-3) at 1:05 p.m. But he also believes the team’s impact may be even more palpable off the court.

“I feel like this is a community that’s on the rise again, and it believes in itself,” he said. “Something even as small as this, with the team achieving something it hadn’t achieved in 25 years, it does nothing but help the overall spirit of the community.

“The way this town has embraced this basketball team — it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen.”

2. Unfamiliar faces at state tournament

Along with Newton, several other schools are making state tournament appearances for the first time in a long time — some for the first time ever.

Des Moines North is in the 4A field, its first appearance since 1991. The Polar Bears enter as the seven seed and are 18-5 overall. Dubuque Hempstead, at 18-5, is making its first appearance at the state tournament.

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North sophomore Tyreke Locure (3) drives the ball past Hoover sophomore Kenny Quinn (1) Friday, Jan. 6, 2017 during their game at North High School in Des Moines.(Photo: Michael Zamora/The Register)

In 3A, Sergeant Bluff-Luton (15-9) is making its first state appearance (Sergeant Bluff qualified in 1940, but went 0-1). The Warriors open against Pella (22-2), a team that’s making its third straight trip and 16th overall.

The new faces at Wells Fargo Arena this week will be more apparent in the smaller classes. In 2A, Van Meter (23-1) is making its first trip to state since 1936, when Bob Feller was on the team. Garner-Hayfield-Ventura (23-1) is also making its first trip (Garner-Hayfield last came in 2007; Ventura in 2009).

Also in 2A, Camanche (22-2) is making its third appearance in school history, and its first since 1985. The Indians will open against a familiar foe — Cascade (22-2), a team they’ve played twice already this year that’s making its fourth straight trip.

There are three new faces in 1A. St. Mary’s (Remsen) is making its first appearance and enters as one of just three remaining unbeaten teams, at 24-0. Top seed North Linn (Troy Mills) is another, at 25-0, and is making its first trip since 1977. New London (21-3) is also making its first state trip.

3. Final rankings prove accurate

As it turns out, the season’s final Associated Press poll was pretty accurate depiction of the state’s best teams.

On the whole, all but eight teams in this year’s field were ranked in the final poll. The entire 2A field were among those in the top 10. In 1A, only West Hancock and Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto qualified after not being ranked.

Both 4A and 3A features three teams that weren’t among those in the final rankings. In 4A, Newton, North and Cedar Rapids Kennedy weren’t in the top 10, but were all receiving votes. In 3A, Cedar Rapids Xavier, Sergeant Bluff-Luton and Atlantic reached after not being ranked.

Even more, all four No. 1 teams — Iowa City in 4A, Waverly-Shell Rock in 3A, Western Christian in 2A and North Linn in 1A — made it to the Well, and are the respective top seeds in their class.

4. Four sharpshooters to watch

— Joe Smoldt, Gladbrook-Reinbeck. The senior shot 53.3 percent from the field and an even-more-impressive 50 percent from deep. Smoldt’s 98 made three-pointers is the most in the state.

— John Stensland, Waverly-Shell Rock. Stensland clanked home 42.2 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. He accounts for half of the Go-Hawks’ 3-point output this season.

— Trey Vanderlaan, Newton. There are plenty of great shooters in this Newton team, and Vanderlaan stands out with his accuracy, knocking down 42.5 percent of his 3-point attempts.

5. Let’s talk about the Little Hawkeye Conference

There are just eight teams in this central (ish) Iowa league, and exactly half of them reached the Well for this week’s state tournament. Newton is in 4A, both Pella and Dallas Center-Grimes are in 3A and Pella Christian is a favorite in 2A.

Even more impressive, two other LHC teams reached their respective substate finals — Oskaloosa lost to Mount Pleasant and Grinnell lost to the Dutch. That’s a crazy good accomplishment for the league, and it might only get better as the week unfolds.

6. Six other players to see

— Jake Hilmer, North Linn. The sophomore leads the state with 254 assists. Nobody else has more than 190. Also, he puts up 21.7 points per game. Kid can ball.

— Dylan Hundley, Camanche. The 6-foot-4 senior is a monster on the boards, totaling 268 and including 90 on the offensive end, the most in 2A. He also scores 15.9 points per game.

— Austin Phyfe, Waverly-Shell Rock. The Northern Iowa-bound senior is scoring 19 points per game while shooting 67.4 percent from the floor, the star player for a Go-Hawk team seeking its second state title in five years.

— Max Techau, Cedar Rapids Xavier. The 6-foot-7 senior is close to unstoppable in the paint on both ends. He’s shooting 62.6 percent and scoring 12.5 points per game and has blocked 42 shots while grabbing 219 boards.

— Van Rees, Sioux City East. The 6-foot-6 junior is the key to a Sioux City East offense that averages 71 points a game. Rees himself puts up 20.7 a game while shooting 56.7 percent.

— Lucas Duax, Dubuque Hempstead. The 6-foot-3 junior has been key in Hempstead’s first-ever state appearance. Duax averages 13 points a game and has dished out 70 assists this year.

7. Be sure to catch Iowa City West

There are plenty of teams to watch this week, but if there’s one that’s appointment viewing, it’s Iowa City West.

The Trojans feature a bevy of talented players in Connor McCaffery, Patrick McCaffery and Devontae Lane, among others. Seybian Sims is a monster on the boards. They boast the state’s best offense and a smothering defense that even gave Joe Wieskamp a few fits. They are 20-3.

West High's Patrick McCaffery (22) and Connor McCaffery head into a timeout during their game against City High at West High on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016.(Photo: David Scrivner/Iowa City Press-Citizen)

“We control our own destiny,” Connor McCaffery said after beating Muscatine in the substate final. “If we defend well, I think we have a really good chance. We’re tough on offense as it is. And if we stick to our rules and have a solid gameplan going in, I think that we’ll definitely be a team to beat.”

Even more, West has been playing its best basketball as of late. Since the calendar turned to February, the Trojans have outscored all in-state competition by an average of 20.4 points per game. During that same stretch, they’ve allowed just no more than 63 points, and the last three teams didn’t break 50.

"Defense wins championships" is often the catchy mantra, but this West team can shoot with the best of them, too. The Trojans enter this week with 15 straight wins over in-state opponents. If they play the way they have over the last month and some change, they’ll secure their fourth state title in the past six years.

8. Unbeatens left standing

As previously mentioned, there are three teams left with a chance to run the table this season. Two reside in Class 1A — North Linn, at 25-0; and St. Mary’s (Remsen), at 24-0. The third is West Delaware in 3A, which is 24-0 in just its fourth state trip.

Valley High senior Austin Hinkle calms his teammates down against Hoover in the Class 4A substate 8 basketball game on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017, at Ankeny Centennial High School in Ankeny. (Photo: Bryon Houlgrave/The Register)

10. Predictions

What’s the state tournament without a little fun? Here are my state champion predictions:

In 1A: Gladbrook-Reinbeck. Experience is an immeasurable factor at the Well, and the Rebels have it in bunches.

In 2A: Western Christian (Hull). The Wolfpack have already won two of the last three state titles and have five since the 2006-07 season. They’re the team to beat.

In 3A: Pella. The Dutch haven’t lost to a 3A team yet this season (to be fair, neither has Waverly-Shell Rock or West Delaware), and their key players make key plays when needed.

In 4A: Iowa City West. The state’s best team from top to bottom. Going to take a perfect game (and then some) to knock off the Trojans.

Cody Goodwin covers high school sports, college basketball recruiting and Drake athletics for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.